Re: More flexible electronic music setup

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

Contrast is the key in getting more creative with your sounds.

Mixing up sampled acoustic instruments with synthesizers.
Mixing up sounds that had lot of processing and/or reverb with sounds 
that have no processing or reverb.
Using  sounds that have very, very short envelopes juxtaposed with 
sounds that are more ambient or long envelope
Change up your harmony.    Play tunes modally or scalarly and stay with 
the scale.......use more complex harmony...........
.use modulation.      Try mixing up quadratic, triadic and diadic 
harmony or juxtapose single melodic lines to create harmony.

By a really cheap sampler........NOT a good one and see what some of 
your own keyboard sounds sound like when you resample
at low band widths.

Bring in simple actual acoustic sounds........there are tons of 
minimalistic keyboards: melodicas, cheesy toy plastic organs, harmonicas,
really cheap toy keyboards, etc., etc.  that can bring really interest 
and subtlety to your midi sounds.
Use found sounds......objects from your kitchen and things that you can 
strike or blow from your local
hardware store or  "everything for a dollar" store.   No matter how 
simple it is,  it will give a cool vibe to an otherwise
fairly sterile midi keyboard environment.    it's the contrast that is 
key......neither group of sounds is better than the other.

Pick up an instrument that has a different paradigm than a keyboard 
(plucked string, bowed string, flute, reed, brass, percussion)
and learn how to play a very, very simple melody and record it on your 
track despite your ability to play the instrument well.
Try to get sounds out of every instrument you own that were NOT intended 
as being musical and use them
like percussion parts.

Sit down and make a mental note of the sounds you like and the sounds 
you dislike.
Purposefully try out some sounds you don't like in a minimal way and see 
what results.

Shake it up,  Kay'lon!    You are creative and ambitious.    Your system 
as it stands can make wonderful
music,  I assure you.

good luck,
Rick Walker


On 5/23/12 8:55 AM, kay'lon rushing wrote:
> How can I make my electronic music setup more sonicly flexible? I want 
> more sounds to play with but i feel like my midi limits me. I 
> basically use the same set of sounds all the time. As you can see in 
> this video compared to the rest of them 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSkOjgYuMOA&feature=youtube_gdata_player <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSkOjgYuMOA&feature=youtube_gdata_player> 
>
>
> any tips? I will be performing at my school lunch soon :p